Microsoft: Kinect Will Be Biggest Ever Hardware Sales Launch

Microsoft have been blowing their own trumpet again by saying that Kinect for the Xbox 360 will push aside the iPad, merely trampling on it while it expresses its technology to the world. It will sell more and be bigger and better than the Xbox 360 itself. Not to mention the PS3 Move, Microsoft say that “this is going to be the one consumer electronics purchase this holiday.”

And they are not just talking about the console market either, they are talking on a whole consumer level.

Microsoft Game Studios corporate president Phil Spencer recently spoke to Edge, where he made his bold claim and also said “So this, for us, is bigger than Xbox launch, bigger than 360 launch – this is a big deal for us. How many units are we going to sell? We’re completely goaled in investing as if this were the biggest console launch ever, and that’s our expectation.”

But what have they got to back up this argument? MCV spoke to numerous retailers who had said a lot of pre-orders for Kinect had gone through the roof, but this is of some contrast to the PS3 Move who have decided that the Move is an “evergreen product,” something that is not like World of Warcraft Expansions or Halo: Reach where the consumer needs it on day one.

“Pre-orders are always important, but Move is not necessarily a pre-order product. It’s not like Halo or World of Warcraft expansions, where people want to get hold of it day one. It is an evergreen product. And whereas pre-orders are very important, it is not necessarily the key focus,” Sony UK marketing manager Adam Boita said.

Although I am very impressed with Kinect as a whole, I think Microsoft maybe over hitting the expectation a little bit, don’t you think?

There is a title for Kinect coming out for gamers called Fighters Uncaged, where you have to use your body as the controller and fight with every muscle of your body – it will help boost sales of Kinect

matt

kinect woo hoo no gaystation move

Harry Butt Ox

Now that the Move is out it’s already established most people are very impressed with the accuracy and lack of lag. Move has proven itself. It has already turned many skeptics into believers. I’m one of them. Move has proven itself to the most important, the people who bought it. Now the pressure is on Kinect. Two friends of mine were skeptics of Move. After using my Move, now they’re both getting one. That’s how Move will sell.

Move will sell slow. Even Sony said it would and now I know why. Sony isn’t spending a lot on ads. They know how gamers feel about motion control and they know you can only understand how good Move is when you get your hands on it and use it. 3 minute tv ads won’t sell the Move. Using it will. Sales for Move will start out slow then rise from word of mouth. The opposite will be true for Microsoft. They already said they are going to push Kinect like it’s the greatest thing in gaming history. That means tons of ads and money promoting it as “the most amazing thing in the history of gaming…YOU HAVE TO HAVE IT”. People will rush out and get it because that’s what brainwashing does. It will easily outsell Move with the launch numbers. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kinect sells a million or more it’s first week. Then, when people actually start using it, they’ll realize it’s not the hype Microsoft said it was and it will be left to gather dust unused. Microsoft only cares about the numbers, bragging rights. If Microsoft can come out of this outselling Move, then they can say “see, we sold more, we win”. They don’t care if people are still using the Move and liking it and Kinect users are not. It’s all about the numbers game. If Kinect fails and people are disappointed but it sells huge numbers…Microsoft wins.

Of the 43 million or whatever existing 360 owners, how many of them will enjoy Kinect considering Microsoft has publicly stated it’s not for hardcore gamers? Those 43 million existing 360 owners are hardcore gamers. Casual gamers don’t buy 360’s and ps3’s. Maybe they’ll buy Kinect for their 8 year olds. 8 year olds have a short attention span. They get tired of things pretty quick and move on.

Kinect will sell more by the end of the year. I bet all my money on it. However, I’ll still be enjoying my Move games both casual and hardcore by the end of the year. I can’t say the same for Kinect owners.

http://www.facebook.com/marioinbali Mario Venerius

Who cares if little kids move on after a while… It still means the Kinect is sold and thus the $$$ received… Besides the Kinect hardware will be available for the PC market soon!

Harry Butt Ox

Thank you for backing up my point. Microsoft doesn't care if the games are any good, they just want the cash from the initial Kinect sale. As a customer…that's not very comforting. But hey, I understand. It's not about putting out a good product, it's about raking in the cash. It's a business.

rick

Move's limitations will not affect it's performance NEARLY as much as kinect's limitations will affect kinect's performance. Go on Youtube, type in Harry Potter Kinect and watch the live stage demo. their characters run literally when they stand still upright, and in a direction that the GAME CHOOSES for them. The user has NO CONTROL of the camera.

Game's already have a problem being linear but Kinect will take it linear to-the-max. no control of where they are going or what they are looking at, it's it is like playing Time Crisis but with lag there was so much lag in the demo. And they were doing the same spells, same hand movements throughout the whole entire thing because the lack of buttons makes it difficult to change spells and weapons and items.

David

I have no problem with Kinect or the Move succeeding, I can evaluate the difference and decide which style of gaming is for me. I do not understand why any gamer wants Sony, Nintendo, MicroSoft to fail. The more success the better for variety and games.

As to the specifics I have not tried Kinect yet, but I have the Wii and The Move.

The Move is more accurate than the wii, and it has a depth of field (moving in the 3d space forward and back) that doesn't exist on anything I have played on the Wii. Also as games come out on the Move the quality difference in graphics will be obvious. I think the Wii will still have its fans, who love mario and zelda and its party games but the Move will bring out a whole new level of gaming experience.

As for the Kenect I have not tried but I think it is challenged because there is no control for feed back. One of the things that I like about the Move is you get vibration feedback.. You feel like you are hitting something, not just air. If Kenect had some kind of gloves that would provide that I think it would be better, but as it stands, there is nothing to hold, no trigger to pull, no feedback, for impacts,or explosions. I also think the Kenect will present challenges for game designers, because they will have to invent all new control structures. (it may create some new and awesome, but how many will invest the time and money, when Halo with control pad works fine).

For me the Move is closer to what I want for motion control, I don't expect nor want to make it the only way I play, but if there are some good titles for the Move I will be getting them.
In the end I love innovation, I hope all the new systems work and do well.

Sid

I'm sure MS know what they are doing and have done their homework.

Kinect is a Launch day buy for me

GordonShumway

The Kinect camera is good technology, but did MS have to go 100% controller-free? Anyone who has ever held a sword or had a single fencing or kendo lesson knows that the Star Wars game that MS showed off would be better on the Move, or even Wii. Kinect is not going to detect your wrist angle, unless it has some magical sensors that can see your bones through your skin. Motion sensors like those in Move or Motion Plus are more accurate for subtle movements and angles, why go 100% controller free except to score marketing points?

Maybe they spent too long thinking about if they 'could' go controller-free, and not enough deciding if they 'should'. Controller-free doesn't work for swords or guns

Jasen

You'd think they'd say…what's the best selling game of all time as far as XBOX goes…Halo! So…how is Halo going to work on Kinect…IT WON'T!

And yeah I know people are goign to say "Well, who would want to play Halo on Kinect…blah blah blah"

Well, if you not playing Halo…or CoD…or Left 4 Dead…or ANY game that's not dance or animal related…what are you going to play using Kinect? Are you going to drop $150 based on the 5 games listed at the top?! Have fun with your pre-order…

namy

Simple truth is MOVE has many restrictions a main one being the camera is static and that is a big problem.(It needs controllers to make up for this) Kinect deals with it all by robotics in the camera motors.

Kinect is NOT out yet so you like everyone else are just guessing, when you say things about Kinect.

You should not compare Move to Kinect it is not in the same class, by all means compare Move to the Wii but in No way whatsoever is Move anything to do with the tech of Kinect…..

Jasen

As long as Microsoft puts a cool spin on something and makes it look inexpensive people will buy it. It never fails…how many people have purchased a PC in the last 10-15 years?! Now, how many have you purchased?! Well, if the first 2 or 3 crashed and stopped working…why did you go buy ANOTHER PC to run windows?! Oh…b/c you say Macs are to expensive?! Well, iahve a feeling buying 3 PCs in the span of a few years its more expensive than buying 1 Mac. I just don't know how Microsoft has all these people wrapped around their finger…ok I'm done now…oh and Kinect will not outsell the iPad…nice try!

Jasen

Sooner or later Kinect will be at the end of its rope…there is only so many ways to have fun running and jumping and yelling at your TV. Looking at the 5 Core Kinect Games listed above…they do not sound that exciting. They all sound like on-rail horror arcade shooters?! Aside from them you have liek what…5 dancing games?! Some workout games…pet the animals…raft down the river…not what I'm looking to do in order to be entertained…but again if that's what you want…just tell me how your going to play CoD with your hands?….tell me! Yelling "FIRE" or "SHOOT" and "RELOAD"…swinging your arms…I'll tell you…you are going to sit back down on the couch and pick up your controller…put your headset back on and all talk about how much Kinect FAILS! But it does not matter…If I had a time machine and went to this time next year and showed everyone that Kinect failed and it sucks and it's a waste of time and money…nothing would change…<<NEXT COMMENT>>

pope

Jasen you are a fanboy, your comments are to long and everything you say about one system is negative whereas you could say exactly the same thing for the other system that you gave all posotives to.

I Like your brushoff of those core games go and watch them on gametrailers, there is nothing New on any of the other systems to match those new games…….

The Kinected Gamer

Well if you had a time machine, maybe I could get back the five minutes I just spent reading a playstations fanboy comment. You don't have the slightest clue about Kinect, seriously. To even compare Kinect with the Eye for Playstation, seriously? Kinect has three different cameras to detect depth and see everything in 3-D, not 2-D like the Eye, Kinect has a motorized stand so it can turn up, down, left and right to get a view of its surroundings and the Kinect is not that big, its probably no more bigger than two xbox controllers while your PS3 when it first came out, was huge and bulky and just a pain to figure out where to place so unless you upgraded then stop complaining about space. Kinect will be incorporated with controller experience, it is a device that can detect emotion and facial expressions and also voice, so while your sitting there selecting from a list of responses to a conversation, we will be able to just say the word, seriously now, do some research before you go off on your playstation fanboy rant. *NEXT COMMENT*

Jasen

Kinect on the other hand looked amazing when the first announced it…now it looks like it's going to struggle in a lot of areas. As far as I'm concerned, Wii is not on my radar. It had it's time in and that time has passed. Even if you going to say Move and Wii are the same…at least I have a huge line-up of games I can play on my PS3 using my dualshock or Move controller and I'm not stuck with Wii Sports or Mario or any of that shit…I'm not 8 years old. And at least the games I do choose to play with my Move will be accurate and not lag and be entertaining and fun…like video games should be. Now if you are going to have more fun with Kinect then that's great…good luck to you. But you have to admit…going forward with development Move will open up more doors having the ability to track motion as well as having buttons…<<NEXT COMMENT>>

Jasen

I have Move and I think it's great. Anyone who has used it knows that it is crazy accurate and feels great when you playing. One thing I have to agree on is the quality of the camera image…far from HD, but it gets the job done perfect. The Kinect is going to have the same quality camera…again not a huge deal, but the Eye is $40…and Kinect is like what $150?! That's pretty expensive…plus it needs its own power supply…it large and will be hard to fit on top of a TV to get it out of the way…unless your actually going to buy the stand they are selling. It already has some known issues with lag and having more than one player at a time and objects in the background…most people don't play in an empty room with no objects for the camera to catch and most people will be playing with friends or family. Now if you look how Move was advertised, I'd have to say it is better than what I expected and holds up to what Sony promised….<<NEXT COMMENT>>

Nick

Sure smells like 360 fanboyism in this here comment section.

Seriously though, I hope kinect doesnt become the next big gaming flop, otherwise they are going to look pretty silly now.

Gary

kinect will sell. however it will fail. why would huge publishers develop a game for kinect when they could hit 2 birds with one stone by making a shit game for the ps3 and porting it over to the wii therefore getting sales from 2 platforms. tone also has a good point. this will be a shit fad like the first eye toy!

Stela

Sorry Gary but you really know nothing about Kinect it's inner workings or it's software, as for the Eyetoy !!!!!!! that was motorised to right ?
Actually it wasn't and nor is the one with Move, Kinect uses it's motors so it can look down to read the floor plan, it also operates the camera’s zoom function, which allows it to expand the play space.(Very clever) and no Blu tack required to keep the camera steady either…

There is also NO WAY they will make a game for the PS3 first then port it to the Wii it will be the other way round and even saying it tells me you expect Move to have the same majority of shovelware the Wii has.

And you say it will fail, well sadly for you PS3 Move then has already failed becuase Kinect has more pre order sales in the USA on it's own than the worldwide sales of Move.

As for games nothing can be any worse than the Move releases they are just bad..

marhorn

Will you do an article when Kinect outsells the move? no you wont, because you luuurrrrvveeee sony! I and a lot of people I know are getting Kinect on day 1!

tone

how do you fire a gun accelarte or break with kinetic

Pizza

Kinect = future of gaming come on guys use your imagination you really think this is going to fail?

Noob

I think they're pushing their luck and they better make sure it doesn't suffer from any technical problems. I do believe it will be a big launch, but not necessarily the biggest. Why? Because Xbox 360 attracts mostly hardcore gamers and Kinect doesn't have much to offer for the big portion of players. In conclusion, it will be like the Playstation Move, where it is not a necessity for day one, but it may become one in the future. Even though I fall in the category of "hardcore gamer," I might be picking up a Kinect around Christmas. Cheers!

The Kinected Gamer

I believe that Kinect will outsell every electronic this Holiday season. Already over in the U.K. I heard that there will not be any stock Kinect because the pre-orders are being ordered at such an alarming rate that it will be very hard to get enough out there to have left over stock for stores. I am a hardcore gamer, but Kinect does not mean goodbye hardcore games, it means hello future where there will be some hard core games released on it, just give it time, until then, all you hardcore gamers complaining about how this will fail, stick to your halo or call of duty, I'll be there with ya'll until November 4th

Kinect sales will crater like halo reach sales have. Once the fanboys have it, sales are finished.

EH what !

Yes Steve I am sure MS would be disopointed if they sell THREE MILLION ON RELEASE DAY and FOUR MILLION and FIFTY THOUDSAND WORLDWIDE in the FIRST WEEK. ….

VinTheDean

True Max but I think that Kinect is limited by not having a controller with buttons. Don't get me wrong I think the Tech behind is cool and it's very appealing to just drive a car with your hands and stuff but I just don't think that it will last.

Unless they get the major developers (The EA's and alike) to get Kinect support on major titles I don't see it going very far.

I know that they will have Kinect support for EA Active 2 and those dancing games but is that it. Excersize, Dancing, and shovelware type games.

At least with the move they are trying to provide Move Support for their main titles like SOCOM, KillZone and even Infamous 2.